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Ok, so this is a good example for where Iım failing to see the advantage to
OpenID over the current local authentication provided by a university /
library. Why would I need to use OpenID as opposed to my current account
that my library provides me? As I understand the current OpenURL workflow,
OpenURL doesnıt do anything with authentication / authorization ­ that
happens at the information source or at the institutionıs proxy server.
Again, OpenID doesnıt say anything about trust; it only speaks to
authenticating that I am the owner of my OpenID URI.

Iım truly trying to play devilıs advocate here; I believe that OpenID is a
step in the right direction, and we even have plans for adding OpenID
support in LibraryFind. Iım really trying to tease out where the added-value
is ­ and how it might best link up to trust systems.

All that being said, Iım still good for that beer, Nate. :-)

-- jaf


On 3/23/07 9:20 AM, "Nathan Vack" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> On Mar 22, 2007, at 10:51 PM, Jeremy Frumkin wrote:
> 
>> > It isnıt clear to me that there is enough added value to libraries
>> > at this point to adopt OpenID ­ of course, Iıd be glad to buy
>> > someone a beer if they provide a use case to convince me otherwise ;-)
> 
> OK, I'll bite:
> 
> * We build a registry mapping OpenID providers to OpenURL resolvers.
> 
> * A user comes to our tool for finding licensed material (eg, a
> LibraryFind implementation)
> 
> * If (by IP, OCLC's link resolver) we know the OpenURL resolver,
> rewrite URLs to point at that resolver.
> 
> * Otherwise, we punt to an OpenID login form, and look them up in the
> OpenID -> Resolver registry, and use that resolver when rewriting links.
> 
> Now, anyone whose institution has both has an OpenURL resolver and
> provides OpenIDs can use our tool, without making any interaction
> with us.
> 
> The really nice thing is that (at least for us) the OpenID resolver
> handles trust issues, proxying requests if necessary. The resolver
> doesn't need to be OpenID-aware -- though it would make for a nicer
> experience.
> 
> Cheers,
> -Nate
> 


===============================================
Jeremy Frumkin
The Gray Chair for Innovative Library Services
121 The Valley Library, Oregon State University
Corvallis OR 97331-4501
 
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